New Smyrna police chief job draws 152 applicants

Published: Wednesday, March 6, 2013 at 5:20 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, March 6, 2013 at 10:37 p.m.

More than 150 people have applied to become New Smyrna Beach's next chief of police, including the current interim chief.

Facts

List of applicants

A complete list of all 152 applicants for police chief is at the end of the story.

Lt. Mike Brouillette is the lone New Smyrna Beach Police Department employee to submit an application in the nationwide search to fill the vacancy left open by the retirement of Police Chief Ron Pagano in December. Brouillette has served as interim chief since Jan. 22, with a current salary of $78,940.

"It's really quite surprising," said Carol Hargy, the city's human resources director, of the number of job seekers wishing to head the 56-member department with a budget of $5.05 million.

Candidates from as far away as Fairbanks, Alaska, put their names in contention, and 44 applicants are from Florida.

Closer to home, along with Brouillette, four applicants listed New Smyrna Beach as their residence of record. One of the New Smyrna Beach job seekers is retired Florida Department of Law Enforcement chief of investigations David C. Donaway.

The candidates' list includes the Volusia County Sheriff's Office District 4 (Deltona) commander, Capt. David Brannon, and two Flagler County sheriff's captains, Mark Carman and J. Lynne Catoggio, both of Palm Coast.

Other familiar names are Tallahassee Police Chief Dennis M. Jones, who was Daytona Beach's police chief prior to current Chief Mike Chitwood, and one of Chitwood's former charges, retired Daytona Beach Deputy Chief Benjamin Walton, who now lives in Philadelphia.

The International Association of Chief's of Police is coordinating the search effort. Under its $32,000 contract, recruiters developed a marketing and advertising campaign to attract candidates, will screen the applicants — including telephone interviews — and rank the finalists based on the city's criteria.

The association will additionally perform background checks and help the city negotiate an offer for the position, which pays in a range of $73,000 to $112,861 annually, according to Hargy. Pagano received an annual salary of $102,752.

During meetings with Police Department personnel and city residents in January, recruiters heard from the officers they wanted more of a front-line leader sitting at the chief's desk, while residents were more concerned the new top cop is responsive to their needs.

The association is slated to provide the city with a roster of finalists who are expected to be introduced to the public during a "meet the community" gathering tentatively scheduled from 4 to 6:30 p.m. March 27 at the Brannon Center, 105 S. Riverside Drive, Hargy said.